Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Le Van Thanh speaks at the forum (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The ASEAN People’sForum (APF) 2020 kicked off on November 5, with the theme “Southeast AsianPeople’s Solidarity for an Inclusive, Cohesive and Responsive Community”.
Held face-to-face in Vietnam and in the videoconference format at other venues, the forum brought together more than 250representatives from various people’s organisations and non-governmentalorganisations based in Vietnam and about 500 others from elsewhere in ASEAN.
In his opening remarks, Phan Anh Son, VicePresident cum Secretary General of the Vietnam Union of FriendshipOrganisations (VUFO), the organiser of the forum, said this is the first timethe APF has gone online, which demonstrates that ASEAN people are adapting tothe “new normal” situation.
A variety of issues will be tabled at APF2020, he said, including Peace and Security; Human Rights and Access toJustice; Sustainable Ecology; Labour and Migration; Alternative Regionalism;Transformative and Solidarity Economy, Trade, Investment, and Corporate Power;Life with Dignity; Culture and the Arts; Innovation, New and EmergingTechnology, Digital Rights; Racial Discrimination; and Religious Extremism.
Son expected that discussions would result inrecommendations for governments on policies to address the challenges and mapout a path ahead.
He looked forward to productive andconstructive discussions contributing to the building of a people-centred andpeople-oriented ASEAN Community, where the voices of the people are heard,where people’s organisations can cooperate with governments and all otherstakeholders, and where “no one is left behind”.
Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalidsand Social Affairs Le Van Thanh said that ASEAN and the world have been copingwith the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19, which have affectedmillions of households and workers.
Along with other challenges like climatechange, the pandemic is a test of how governments and people, especiallydisadvantaged and vulnerable groups, respond to different problems, he noted.
The deputy minister urged ASEAN to strengthenthe readiness of governments, people, and businesses so they can beself-reliant and make use of the opportunities.
He hoped that, at APF 2020, delegates wouldhave a chance to share their experience, strengthen the spirit of solidarity,cohesion and unity among ASEAN’s people’s organisations, and identify measuresto tackle the region’s common challenges and increase the participation ofpeople in ASEAN’s decision-making process.
The forum, which runs through November 7, isheld annually on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit. It was first held byMalaysia in 2005./.
VNA
